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NARRATITB 

or THE 

BARBAROUS TREATMENT 
Tvro Unfortunate J^eniales, 

Natives of the parish of Concordia, Louisiana, 



HUSBAND AND PARENT WERE INHUMANELY 
BY TWO RUNAWAY BLACKS, 




The principal instigator of whiqh has since suffered at the Stake, 

NEW YORK: 
PRINTED FOR THE PUBLISHERS. 

1842. 



Entered according to act of Congress, in the year of our Lord, 1S42, by 

WILLIS ROOT & CHARLES BROWN, Proprietors. 
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of 

New York. 



IWARKATS^E, &c. 



The painful duty unhappily devolves upon the Nar- 
rator (who has but just entered the sixteenth year of 
her age) to present the public with the melancholy 
particulars of the awful events that have attended her, 
as well as her late companion in misery, (Mrs. Eliza 
Todd) since the ] 2th of May last, both of whom, since 
that period, have been doomed to drink deep of the 
bitter cup of sorrow ! Since the commencement of 
the month of April last, the white inhabitants residing 
in the neighborhood of the Parish of Concordia (Lousi- 
ana,) have been under very great apprehension that a 
portion of the hlack population in that quarter, were on 
the point of meditating some serious plot, either to ex- 
terminate them, or to inflict upon them, in an unguarded 
moment, some severe chastisement — which, although 
well grounded, was not realized until late in the even- 
ing of the time above mentioned, when the inmates of 
the dwelling of my deceased father (Mr. Noali Har- 
rington) were suddenly aroused by a loud rap at the 
• door, accompanied by the voices of one or more, de- 
manding entrance ! As my father at that moment 
(whatever might be the intentions of the assailants) 
possessed not the means to offer any resistance, their 
commands were immediately complied with, and the 
door unbolted, when two frightful looking negroes, 
.armed and partially disguised, presented themselves, 



and the report of their muskets, each levelled, and that 
fatally, at the head of my father, was the only reply 
that they gave him on his demanding the object of 
their visit, and which, almost as instantaneously, laid 
him lifeless at the feet of his affrighted family ! This 
appears to have been the signal agreed upon by the 
assailants, to enter and complete the murderous deed, 
had it not already been affected, which very soon ap- 
peared to be the case, for, from the moment of receiv- 
ing the first fire, my poor father gasped but once, and 
his spirit had forever fled ! At the loud screeches of 
my mother and others of the family, the assailants be- 
came apparently much afraid that others in the neigh- 
borhood might become alarmed, and consequently 
hastily collected and packed up the most valuable 
articles nearest at hand, and fled, commanding me, in 
a ^ew words of broken English, to follow them, and 
afterwards by threats and frightful grimaces to conduct 
them to the house of our nearest neighbor, which was 
V that of a M?: George Todd, situated about a half a mile 

distant, and where they made a similar demand for 
admittance, with the promise that, if immediately com- 
plied with, none within should be injured ! But, in 
this last instance, the blacks proved themselves both 
treacherous as well as unmerciful, for no sooner did 
they here gain admittance than Mr. Todd (the only 
male that the house contained) became their second 
victim, at whom the blacks having discharged their 
rifles, with less immediate effect than in the tragical 
death of my poor father. They completed the butchery 
of their victim by dashing out his brains in the most 
barbarous manner, with the breach of their muskets ! 
and not only in the presence of his wife, but so near 
th:it her gown becnme bespattered with bis blood and 
brains! And having thus completed theii contempla- 
teil work of death, they compelled Mrs. Todd, (with 
her hel[)le.ss babe, of but seven months old) together 
with myself, and a young mulatto girl, who, soon after 
the raui'dcr, joined them as a companion, and had ac- 



companied them from their master's plantation to follow 
them to an unfrequented and dismal swamp, situated 
but a few miles from Concordia ; a pathless recess, 
which they no doubt had previously selected, as the 
place best calculated for their secret abode, and for 
the accomplishment, undiscovered, of their beastly de- 
signs ! The object in permitting the infant of Mrs. 
Todd to accompany its mother, was to prevent its be- 
ing left alone behind, when its tender cries, they no 
doubt were fearful, might lead to their detection; and 
that they intended to dispatch it, as soon as they had 
penetrated far enough into the swamp, cannot be 
doubted, for this they had several times hinted to their 
female mulatto companion, and the life of the little 
innocence was afterwards spared by her entreaties, 
alone ! 

The night proved extremely dark and rainy, and 
it was not until the break of day when we began to 
penetrate the margin of the swamp, that Mrs. Todd 
and myself, began to suspect what might be the designs 
of the wretches, and whither, and for what purpose, 
they intended thither to convey us ; indeed, we could 
not but suspect that it was for almost any other than 
a good purpose ! While conveying us thither, that the 
black villians were under continual fear that their 
murderous deeds might be brought to light, and they 
suspected and pursued, there could be no doubt, as we 
were forbidden to raise our voices louder than a 
whisper, and the poor afflicted mother (Mrs. Todd) 
compelled to nurse her infant the whole way, to pre- 
vent its crying — and in addition to which, by the cruel 
and almost constant application of switches to our bare 
shoulders, we were compelled to increase our speed, 
whenever we manifested the least disposition to slacken 
our pace. By the light of day we had ])enetrated the 
gloomy forest (or rather mirey swamp) to about its 
centre, when we, in the first instance, came to a halt, 
and were presented by the blacks with a draught of 
blood warm, muddy water, scooped from one of the 



8 

stagnant pools, and afterwards with a few broken 
crumbs of hard biscuit to eat, which they had pilfered 
from the cupboard of the unfortunate Mrs. Todd. 

When we had arrived at this, the intended place of 
destination of the blacks, and which afterwards proved 
the spot of our six weeks abode, the few thin garments' 
with which we were attired, were torn in tatters by 
the low brush and thick briars through which we had 
been compelled to travel, and our feet and ankles filled 
with bleeding and painful wounds, produced by the 
same cause ! The first demand of the mercyless 
w^retches, after we arrived hare, was the surrender of 
the tender and unoffending babe, of its poor mother, 
and in their attempt to force it from her embrace, such 
was its loud and shrill screeches, produced thereby, 
that, through fear ot the consequences that might result 
therefrom, they were induced to suffer the affrighted 
infant to remain in the possession of its mother, and 
without attempting another seperation ; whereby, Mrs. 
Todd was providentially enabled to save from the 
cruel termination of its existence, the life of her precious 
charge ; and which, notwithstanding the extreme 
sufferings since experienced by its wretched mother, 
is at the moment of pening this narrative, alive and 
well ! And the next act of the colored villians was to 
regale themselves with the wine, and other intoxicating 
drinks, unfortunately contained in the cellar of the 
dwelling of my deceased father, as well as that of his 
not less unfortunate neighbor, Mr. Todd, and when 
having become heated therewith, they, in the first 
instance, attempted to take improper liberties with our 
persons ! which, with the assistance of their companion, 
the mulatto girl, (who ever after continued our friend 
and benefactoress) we were enabled partially to re- 
sist ! 

When the colored brutes became sufficiently sober,' 
the next employment in which they engaged them- 
selves, was each to erect for himself, with turf, brush, 
&c., a temporary shelter, in which their stolen booty 



9 

was deposited, and beneath which, they gave their 
female companion to understand, was intended for our 
lodging place, as well as their own ! — but when com- 
pleted, every artful inducement practised by them to 
induce either myself, or my wretched companion to 
yield to their brutal solicitations, proved as ineffectual 
as in the first instan-ce, both having mutually resolved 
to trust to an unerring Providence to aid us, to resist 
every attempt that should be forcibly made by the 
wretches, to effect their nefarious purpose ; and to 
which we could not but view death, by their savage 
hands, far more desirable ! Finding us resolute and 
determined, they next proceeded to devise and practise 
other means to compel us to yield — they bound us with 
cords to saplings, and while Joseph (the youngest, and 
it is believed the least guilty of the two) was compelled 
to gather switches for the purpose, Enoch, the oldest, 
was as busily engaged in most unmercifully scourging 
us therewith, until life became almost extinct, by the 
excruciating pains produced thereby ! And as I was 
not on this, as on other painful occasions, forbidden to 
converse with my suffering companion, we encouraged 
each other as much as possible with the pleasing reflec- 
tion that our lives was alone in the power of 07ie, who 
yet might be pleased to deliver us from the hands of 
the unmerciful enemy —although young, and least, per- 
haps, experienced to hardships, yet I could not but 
view Mrs. Todd, if possible, even in a moi-e afflicting 
situation than myself, inasmuch as that she was not 
only under continual apprehensions for her own per- 
sonal safety, but for that of her innocent babe, whose 
cries she found it almost impossible to hush, and which 
the blacks had threatened to put instantly to death, 
the moment that they became too annoying ! 

In the dismal swamp, with no other (with the ex- 
ception of the friendly mulatto girl) but two colored 
brutes for our companions, who probably cared no more 
for our lives than that of the meanest reptile o{ the 
forest, we passed the first night with much less horribje 
2 



10 

feelings than one would have supposed that we both 
would have naturally anticipated. On being ordered 
each to retire to bed (a bed composed of nought but 
dry moss and leaves) which the blacks had prepared 
for us, and to which each had expressed a determina- 
tion to accompany us, but was finally dissuaded there- 
from only by the entreaties of the mulatto girl, who 
strongly interested herself in our behalf, and of whom 
boih the blacks appeared extremely fond, and who to 
afford us every necessary protection, obtained their 
consent to improve a part of one of the beds allotted 
us, while (much to our satisfaction) the negroes peace- 
ably improved the other. But, although in some 
measure yet safe, the succeeding day brought new 
trials and afflictions, still more grievous to be borne ! 
The blacks much displeased with the resistance that 
we had uniformly manifested, since in their power, to 
revenge themselves, as well as further to intimidate us, 
in several instances, after havincr received from netjro 
Enoch, the most severe and painful flagellations, we 
were, before unbound, suffered to remain as a mark, 
at which the blacks aimed their pieces, at the eminent 
danger of our lives, merely, as they boasted, to ex- 
ercise their skill as rnarks men! and in w^hich instance, 
it is the opinion of Mrs. Todd, as well as myself, that 
we should have been fatally shot, had not the kind in- 
ter[)osition of our friend, the mulatto girl, prevented 
it ; who, whenever she beheld our lives thus jeopard- 
ized, would.drop on her knees and beg of the blacks to 
desist, and in the meantime assuring them "that if the 
lives of the two unfortunate captives were thus to be 
cowardly sacrificed, thei?' bullets would have first to 
pass through her body, before she would willingly per- 
mit them to reach those of the unfortunate victims !" 

Although we were providentially permitted to pass 
the first night of our captivity unmolested, and free 
from insult, .yet, notwithstanding, the most praiseworthy 
interest which our mulatto friend had taken --thus far. 
in our favor, there were instances before the day of 



11 

our happy deliverance, that the savage treatment which 
we both received from the beastly ruffians, was of a 
nature the most cruel and infamous, and which modesty 
forbids our publicly nameing, but such as very justly 
merited the severe punishment which black Enoch, 
the chief aggressor, has since received ! During the 
six weeks of our most bitter captivity, (in which so 
extreme had been our sufferings, that every day ap- 
peared a week,) Mrs. Todd and myself had opportu- 
nities of frequent interviews, and to relate to each 
other the appalling state of our feelings ! One or the 
other of the blacks, during the time of our confinement, 
had occasion frequently to leave us for one or more 
nights, claudestively to visit some of the adjacent white 
settlements in quest of articles of food, or something 
that might serve to satisfy the cravings of nature; but 
in every instance, whenever one thus absented himself, 
the other was left closely to guard us, to prevent our 
escape ; and to effect which, at one of our interviews, 
Mrs. Todd suggested a plan, which, although it ap- 
peared very encouraging and almost sure of success, 
yet, before the day arrived in which the attempt was 
to be made to carry it into execution, it was completely 
frustrated and abandoned by the sudden and unex- 
pected return of Enoch, who early the preceding even- 
ing had been dispatched to a neighboring village, in 
quest of food, as before mentioned — but this unexpect- 
ed frustration of our plan to escape, did not prevent 
our devising another, a few days thereafter, which, as 
our mulatto friend was therein engaged, promised better 
success, and as an incentive to urge us to its immediate 
execution, even at the greatest risk of our lives, the 
important and very serious fact was communicated to 
us by tlie mulatto, that our graves ivere already dug, 
and prepared for the reception of our bodies at a mo- 
ment's notice, and were not a quarter of a mile distant 
from the place we then occupied ! All which has since 
proved true, by several who have had occular proof 
'Qi the fact. 



y 



12 

The second and last plan to escape, was precon- 
certed by the mulatto girl alone, and such as manifest- 
ed in her a proof of deep devise and penetration, but 
like the other, an unforeseen circumstance defeated at 
the very moment when we considered our final escape 
from the most wretched state of captivity, as almost 
stire and certain ! These deep and well concerted 
plans to escape, had, however, no other effect than to 
cause us to be treated with more severity, and the 
blacks to keep a more vigilant eye on us ! The second 
week of our confinement, both Mrs. Todd and her 
infant became extremely ill, produced, as was supposed, 
by the effects of severe treatment, and to a long and 
chilly rain to which they had, the two or three days 
previous, been exposed, and on which occasion, per- 
mission was granted me by Joseph, my reputed keeper, 
and the youngest of the blacks, (and much the most 
civil and human of the two) to visit her, and to admin- 
ister to her wants as much as lay in my power so to 
do; three days severe illness had been sufficient to re- 
duce her and her poor helpless babe to niere skeletons, 
and herself to that state of bodily weakness, ap to render 
her not only unable to nurse her infant cnild, but to 
perform for it and hei's.elf other important and neces- 
sary dnties ! The treatment which she represented 
to me, she was almost daily and hourly in the habit of 
receiving from "negro Enoch," the depraved and re- 
morseless Mack, whose tvill she had in too many instances 
been compelled to obey, was such as would cause every 
heart, but that of adamant, to bleed ! Indeed, was the 
exposure of the black scoundrels' abominable conduct, 
not here improper to be presented to the view of the 
public eye, it would herein meet with that expositiouj 
even if it necessarily must proceed from the source 
that it would, that every reader might be well satis- 
fied with the justness of the villian's punishment, since 
inflicted upon him. 

Amid all the troubles and trials, to which this poor 
sick woman had been the ten preceding days exposed, 



18 

yet, happy am I to say, that I found her still sonnd in 
mind, and perfectly, and Without a murmer, resigned 
to the will of Providence ! " Let us, Miss Harrington," 
said she to me, "still hope that a better fate awaits 
us — severe as have been our afflictions, yet still, it 
ought to be to us a consolation, that we know of no 
improper act of our lives by which they could have 
been in any degree merited !" The true spirit of un- 
feigned piety which my afflicted companion apr)eared 
to breath out, in the hour of her most severe and pain- 
ful sickness, could not prove otherwise than consoling 
to me, and served very much to lighten the burden of 
my own afflictions, and on due reflection to satisfy me 
that amid all his judgments, a divine Providence had 
not forgotten to be merciful, even in the instance in 
softening the heart and causing us to be pitied by the 
friendly mulatto girl, to whose benevolent and kind 
interposition in our behalf, in more than one instance, 
saved our lives, and was finally, .as the reader will 
learn from my Narrative, instrumental in restoring us 
to our libeity, and to the arms of our afflicted friends, 
as well as to bring to his merited punishment, the hard 
hearted wretch who had been as instrumental in plung- 
ing us in a state of inconceivable misery and despair I 
My afflicted friend, Mrs. Todd, after a confine- 
ment of six days, by sickness, recovered, and no doubt ^ 
to become once more the subject of trials and afflictions 
not less severe than those which she had already ex- 
perienced — nor were they such as were altogether 
produced by the abuse and ill-treatment which we 
were almost every day in the habit of receiving from 
the vile brutes, in human shape, in whose power fate 
had placed us ! But from other causes we suffered 
very considerable — the food allowed us was barely 
sufficient to satisfy the cravings of nature, being only 
such as the blacks were enabled to obtain in their 
thievish excursions ; and the only bedding allowed us, 
on which to repose, whether sick or well, was no other 
than what was composed of moss and dry forest leaves> 



14 

and with little else to cover and protect us from the 
chilling blasts and dews of the night, but what the 
canopy of heaven afforded us ! Such was, and con- 
tinued to be, our wretched condition during the term 
of our captivity ; and in which time, were I to attempt 
to particularize and herein to record, minutely, every 
instance of personal abuse that we sustained, would 
fill a book of more than double the number of pages 
than what it is intended this Narrative shall contain — 
every circumstance, however trivial, if of a nature to 
produce any displeasure on the part of the blacks, was 
almost invariably attended by a kick or cuff from one 
or both of them, but, in most instances, we had less 
cause to complain of the abuse and insolence of Joseph^ 
than of "negro Enoch,^' in whose very countenance 
was depicted everything that was hase and perfidious 1 
Many were the plans devised by both, Mrs. Todd and 
myself, how and by what manner we might be either 
enabled to make our escape, or by communicating 
with our friends acquaint them with our situation, and 
thereby be more able to effect it, but in every plan 
that we thus devised we failed, until the last, which 
providentially was attended with the success that we 
had hoped for, and in which, as in several other suc- 
cessful projects, our friend and benefactoress, the 
mulatto girl, acted a very important part, and whom, 
by the rich reward that we were able to proffer her in 
case of success, we so far enlisted her in our favor, 
that for a specified sum of money, which we pledged 
ourselves should be paid her, by either ourselves or 
friends, she consented, at the risk of her life, to com- 
municate to the latter information of our situation — 
and to do this with the least possible suspicion, it was 
proposed that she should improve the succeeding night, 
soon after the blacks had retired to rest, and by pursu- 
ing, with all possible haste, the supposed direction from 
which the blacks had brought us, and if so fortunate 
as to reach a settlement, to acquaint the first ichite 
person that she should meet with the circumstance of 
our captivity, &c. 



16 

The proposed hour arrived, when every direction 
which the mulatto girl had received from us, relative 
to her departure, &c., was strictly adhered to, and 
which happily in the end produced the heart-cheering 
effects that we had both so frequently and earnestly 
prayed for ; but, before all was fairly accomplished, 
we both came near fallino- a sacrifice to the stronor 
suspicions and evil jealousy of the blacks, who as soon 
as the mulatto girl (to whom they were both so much 
attached) was missed, they were not long to suspect 
the cause of her absence, and by whom, and for whaf 
purpose she had been thus secretly dispatched ! From 
this moment they both appeared to be sure and certain 
that they should be betrayed, and by one whom, until 
this moment, they had never supposed capable of 
tf-eachery, as regarded themselves. They well knew 
that they had, without the least provocation, destroyed 
the lives of two innocent men, and in addition to which, 
the treatment which the wife of one, and daughter of 
the other had received while since in their power, was 
the most abominable, and such as would most assuredly 
(independent of the crime of shedding innocent blood) 
effect their lives ! Agreeable to the dymg declaration 
of Joseph, (since publicly executed) they at this mo- 
ment felt capable of the commission of any crime, 
however barbarous, if it should prove conducive to 
their own personal safety, and would even not have 
hesitated a moment to have added the three unfortunate 
captives, then in their power, to the catalogue of their 
butchered victims, had they believed that any such 
(to them" fortunate circumstance could have resulted 
therefrom ; but too well they knew that such an act 
would only be adding to the enormity of their guilt! 
For the yellow girl, (who would prove herself so much 
their enemy as to betray them) would not hesitate to 
appear as a witness against them if apprehended and 
brought to trial, and that they eventually should be, 
neither doubted, as they viewed an escape utterly im- 
possible. They would both have fled, and deserted 



10 

their captives, but they knew not whither or to what 
part of the adjacent country they could fly, which 
would promise them any greater safety than the place 
which they then occupied. 

While in this dilemma, the ears of the blacks were 
assailed by the most clear and positive proof that the 
secret and well devised plan of their false friend and 
unfortunate captives, were about to meet with that 
success that they (the blacks) least could have wished ; 
it was that of the shrill sound of a trumpet, accom- 
panied by the barking of one or more hlood hounds ! 
And at the instant the fiend Enoch would have at- 
tempted the destruction of his own life (as has since 
been remarked by Josep»h) had he not proved too 
great a coioard! It was at the hour of about 2 o'clock, 
P. M., when the poor captives, (the unfortunate Mrs. 
Todd and myself,") were cheered in a degree not to be 
easily described, by the welcomed approach of five 
white men, with whom our fortunate messenger, the 
mulatto girl had communicated, and on whose infor- 
mation of our lamentable situation, had, in a praise 
worthy manner, and without a single moment of un- 
necessary delay, started to our relief They were ac- 
companied by two blood hounds, which proved very 
serviceable in scenting us, and in guiding their masters 
to the almost impenetrable thicket to which we had 
been six weeks confined ; on discovering us, and in 
the helpless situation as described by the mulatto, they 
all appeared very sensibly effected, as we poor unfor- 
tunate captives did, with gratitude, to them who were 
about to prove our deliverers from cruel bondage. 

The blacks, on the approach of our friends, mani- 
fested no disposition whatever to escape, or in any 
manner to defend themselves, but stood motionless and 
as if completely petrified and horror-struck, particu- 
larly the wretch " Enoch,''' who indeed had but little 
mercy to expect from their hands ! They, the blacks, 
were both immediately seized, and well secured with 
cords and manacles, which our friends had brought 



17 

with them for the purpose, and in which condition 
they were ordered to set their faces eastward, and to 
take up their hne of march, and proceed from their 
hiding place, which had so long been the abominable 
scene of their iniquity, with almost as much haste as 
they, the six weeks previous, had resorted thereto ; 
while Mrs. Todd and myself were each provided with 
other and more easy means of conveyance ; indeed, 
the bodily weakness of both, at that moment, would 
have rendered it quite imj)ossible for us to have per- 
formed the task on foot. Our kind friends, by turns, 
conveyed the infant of Mrs. T. in their arms, and 
whose life, amid its bitter privations and sufferings, 
had been most miraculously preserved ! In about 
twelve hours from the time of our departure, our 
happy deliverance and safe return was greeterl by 
those who had been late our friends and neighbors, 
and some of our nearest connections, by whom, and by 
others, we were provided with every article, both of 
food and clothing, which we stood most in need of. 
The prisoners, after a close and somewhat lengthy 
examination, on the part of Joseph, were committed to 
prison to await the punishment which their judges 
were pleased to pronounce upon them. 

In the course of the examination of Joseph, who 
was much younger than "negro Enoch," he confessed 
that he had assisted in putting to death both m.\ father 
and Mr. Todd, and one other person whose name he 
did not know, and that he was compelled to do it 
against his own inclination by Enoch, who first enticed 
him to leave his master, partly by threats, and partly 
by the promise that if they should be so fortunate as 
to capture any white females, he [Joseph] should have 
one of his own choice as his adopted imfe ! He further 
confessed that the plan of retiring to some secluded 
spot, in the very extensive forest, with their captives, 
was one preconcerted by Enoch some time previous 
to the evening on which it was carried into effect ; 
and that his savage abuse aod beastly treatment of 
3 



18 

which he had been guilty, as respected their unfortu- 
nate captives, was partly produced by his own inclina- 
tion, and partly through fear of causing the displeasure 
of Enoch, who had in three or ("our instances threatened 
his life for manifesting an unwillingness to follow his 
brutal examples! He confessed that with Ae//?/, their 
female companion, they had both been long acquainted, 
and of whom both had been extravagantly fond, and 
had ever thought her (until the night of her secretly 
leaving them) too much attached to both to treacher- 
ously betray them in the manner she had done. He 
conlessed that the treatment which we, their unfortu- 
nate female captives, had received from their hands, 
while in their power, extremely severe, and which, on 
our part, had been caused by no other fault than our 
unwillingness to yield to their brutal proposals ! — and 
that it was the proposal of Enoch, that both should be 
put to death and our bodies buried in the swamj), as 
soon as they became weary of our company, or circum- 
stances should render it necessary, and that the spot 
had been selected for the purpose in the most hidden 
and least likely to attract the notice of any one, who 
might ever happen to pass that way in search of us ! 
He likewise confessed that it was the determination of 
both, himself and Enoch, that the infant child of Mrs. 
Todd should be put to death the moment that they 
had penetrated the swamp, to a distance that they 
thought its cries could not be heard by those whom 
they thought most probably would be dispatched in 
pursuit of them, the morning after the murders were 
committed. As regarded their favorite mulatto, iV^^//?/, 
Jose|)h confessed that he believed that, agreeable to 
the declaration of the captives, they would in two or 
three instances have been put to death, in some way 
or other, had it not been for her intreaties in their be- 
half — that the great regard which she manifested for 
the two unfortunate women, he believed (as she has 
since herself declared) might be attributed to the 
respect which she professed to feel for herfalheri who 



19 

was a full blooded white man, and a Spaniard by birth, 
— that she had some months previous engaged to be- 
come the wife of Enoch, as soon as he should be able 
to obtain his freedom, and had consented only to ac- 
company him on his late desperate expedition, with 
the expectation that it would result in nothing more 
serious ! — that at the time the murders were commit- 
ted, of my father and Mr. Todd, P^noch had taken the 
precaution to have her absent, as it is not improbable 
that he too much feared that her great regard for the 
whites w^ould induce her to interpose to prevent the 
deed ! 

In the examination of i\elly, the mulatto girl, and of 
whom I so frequently, in the course of my narrative, 
have had occasion so justly to speak in praise of, as 
not only beneficial in alleviating in a degree the misery 
which attended us during our six weeks captivity, but 
finally was the principal means whereby we obtained 
our liberty ; she very clearly and satisfactorily answered 
every question put to her by those whose duty it was 
to interrogate her — fully corroborating the truth of 
every statement and declaration that I have myself 
made in the preceding pages. She confessed that she 
had, some months previous, consented to follow the 
fortunes of one who had. repeatedly declared his re- 
gard for her, and to whom she had given encourage- 
ment, that she would be united as soon as he could by 
any fair means obtain his freedom — that she continued 
of this mind until that fatal moment, when she saw that 
he was practising other than fair means to effect his 
favorite object — that he had even stained his hands in 
that blood, whom the love she had ever entertained 
for her father, she had been taught to respect ; and 
even more than that, had made captives of, and held 
in cruel bondage, the wnfe and infant babe of one, and 
the daughter of the other of his guiltless victims, whom 
in her own presence he, as well as his colored male 
companion, had repeatedly treated in the most savage 
manner, and would in two or three instances have 



20 

taken their lives, had she not interposed to save them ! 
Soon after the examination and confession of Joseph, 
(who was adjudged the least guilty of the two prison- 
ers) as well as that of Nelly, the friendly mulatto girl, 
who had accompanied them, it was the opinion of the 
court that the crime of the former, although in some 
instances involuntarily committed, were sufficiently 
atrocious to effect his life, and to render him as one 
justly meriting exemplary punishment ; the sentence 
of death was therefore pronounced upon him, to be 
inflicted by hanging, after the usual manner in which 
other condemned felons were put to death for capital 
offences — and which sentence was soon after carried 
into execution. But a still more severe punishment 
awaited the fiend Enoch, who, it had been proved to 
the satisfaction of the court, had been the chief projec- 
tor and instigator of not only the extreme sufferings of 
the unfortunate captives, but of the cold blooded and 
untimely murders of both husband and father, and 
therefore the sentence of death in its most painful and 
awful form (burning at the stake !) was pronounced 
upon him, and who, immediately after the execution of 
black Joseph, was chained to a tree within fair view 
of the Mississippi, around which the faggots were piled, 
and the burning torch applied. The prisoner, who 
during the whole time that preparation was making 
for the consummation of the tragic scene, remained 
speechless, and of a revengeful and sulkey appearance ! 
He was a man apparently of great bodily strength, and 
watched heedless and unmoved the curling flame as 
it grew, until it began to entwine itself around and 
feed upon his body ! then he could no longer remain 
silent, or of the same disposition of mind ; but sent 
forth cries of agony painful to the ear, begging of some 
one of the spectators present, in pity to him, to blow 
out his brains, and thus put an end to the torments 
which began to seize him. And thus, the merciless 
wretch who was deaf to the cries of the poor suffering 
and unoffending captives, during the moments of their 



21 

most severe afflictions, while in his power, now in turn 
begged that the sanne degree of pity might be extend- 
ed to him which he had withheld from them ! But 
he begged in vain, and when the heat became too 
intense and painful to be borne, with almost super 
human strength, drew out the staple with which the 
chain which bound him was fastened to the tree, and 
with one agonizing leap cleared the burning pile— but 
he was not even so to escape, at that moment the sharp 
ring of rifles were heard, and the next, the negro 
monster fell a hfeless corpse on the ground, upon which 
his body was immediately picked up by two or three 
bystanders present, and again committed to the flames, 
and in a very few minutes utterly consumed, and not 
a vestige remaining to show that such a vile being ever 
existed ! And thus perished two remorseless wretches, 
in a manner that the righteous law had justly doomed 
them ! Nor can the fate of either, however awful and 
severe, more than sufiiciently attone for their beastly 
acts of cruelty inflicted upon their friendless captives, 
who, since the moment of their deliverance to the pre- 
sent, have not been free from the most serious effects 
produced thereby ; and had it not been for the inter- 
position of a kind and unerring Providence, might have 
been doomed now to fill the graves which the wretches, 
it is well known, had expressly prepared for the re- 
ception of their bodies ! 

Nelly Predello, was the name which our benefac- 
toress bore, Predello being the name of that of her 
father, who was, as she represented to us, a white man, 
and a native of old Spain ; and although she was early 
indented to her uncle, (the master of Enoch and 
Joseph) yet she lived with him in no other capacity 
than an indented apprentice, free born, and entitled to 
her freedom at the age of twenty-one. At the expense 
of her father she had received a good education, and 
as far as the narrator's short acquaintance with her 
would enable her to determine, always appeared as 
one influenced by the pure principles of humanity^ 



remarkably manifested by the many acts of kindness 
which she had rendered both Mrs. Todd and myself, 
during the time of our captivity — and she too was 
particularly kind and serviceable to the former during 
the period of her severe illness, supplying her with the 
most wholesome food that could be obtained, and water 
from the clearest and purest spring that the swamp 
afforded — nor was this all, when she found that her 
inhuman black companions were disposed, to save 
trouble, as well as anxiety on the part of its mother, 
to put her young and tender infant to death, it was 
through Nelly's intreaties alone that the wretches were 
diverted from their wicked purpose ! 

For these kind services, the friends and connections 
of the liberated captives deemed her as one justly 
meriting a reward equivolent to the important services 
rendered them, and accordingly, as soon as they, the 
captives, became so far recovered as to be able to 
afford their friends with a narrative of their melancholy 
adventures, every word oi which was corroberated 
by the declaration ol Nell}/ in the course of her ex- 
amination, she was very deservedly presented with a 
sum that has since proved sufficient to enable her to 
purchase a small plantation, sufficiently large and pro- 
ductive, with prudence, to insure her a comfortable 
support through life ; and it is the sincere prayer of 
the narrator, (who feels that she is so deeply indebted 
to this kind and benevolent mulatto,) that she may 
enjoy hereafter that repose and degree of happiness to 
which (for her disinterested acts of humanity) she is 
fio much entitled. 

And now, my dear reader, in bringing my affecting 
narrative to a conclusion, I have only to add that I 
have furnished my readers with as minute a detail of 
my trials and afflictions as I possibly can do under my 
present state of mind — and it cannot be expected that 
after having been made, for six long weeks, the subject 
of such barbarous and inhuman treatment, much of 
which, if herein correctly delineated, would not fail to 



23 

shock the modesty of my female readers, after so 
short a period as that has transpired since my happy 
deliverance, that I could so soon be restored to my 
former state of health. But, impaired as it has been, 
I must again say, that I cannot believe it to have been 
so much so as that of my doubly afflicted friend, Mrs. 
Todd, whose misfortune it was to be almost constantly 
under the immediate controle of that justly condemned 
villain, Enoch ! He it w-as, agreeable to the declara- 
tion of both Joseph and Nelly, that first projected the 
foul murder of the three innocent victims, the name 
of one yet unknown, and he it was that conducted the 
unfortunate female captives into the deep recess of an 
unfrequented swamp, and that too, for a most beastly 
purpose ! But happy am I to say, that both, Mrs. Todd 
and myself, are now fast recovering, and both feel un- 
feignedly thankful to that kind Providence who, while 
alone and in the wilderness, did not fail to hear our 
cries a;nd lamentations, and. cause us to be pitied, and 
finally to be restored to our respected friends, who 
since the morning of our exile had been almost con- 
stantly engaged in endeavoring to learn our condition, 
which from the tragic scene which the mangled bodies 
of our deceased friends presented, they could not but 
suppose must be even more shocking than what they 
then could have any conception of! — the day follow- 
ing, the whole settlement became alarmed, and believ- 
ing that the bold and daring assault committed upon 
the dwellings of their murdered friends was only the 
prelude to other and still more fatal tragedies, without 
a moment's delay, prepared themselves in the best 
possible manner to repel any such attacks ! That the 
assailants were Macks, and that both Mrs. Todd and 
myself had been made captives of, and for some dio- 
bolical purpose conducted by them to some secluded 
part of the adjacent forest, the information which they 
received from the surviving friends of our family, who 
had fortunately escaped sharing the fate of the other 
captives, fully satisfied them of the fact ; and hence 



84 

the general but fruitless effort' made on their part for 
several days lo discover the place to Vvhich we had 
been thus conveyed and concealed. 



TO THE READER. 

Ol?' As many new publications have been recently 
issued in pamjMet form, from American presses, some 
of which are represented to contain "interesting nar- 
ratives of events of the- most thrilling nature !" and 
which have afterwards been found er\t\re\y fictitious, 
and not even bearing the shadow of truth, the pub- 
lisher of Miss. Harrington's melancholly and authentic 
Narrative, [with which the public is herewith present- 
ed] begs liberty to assure the reader that it has been 
derived from a no less correct and respectable source 
than from the unfortunate young lady herself, and the 
truth of every word of which is confirmed by one or 
more respectable witnesses. 















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